Español — Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is built from the third-person plural preterite. It has two equivalent endings, -ra and -se: hablara/hablase, comiera, tuviera, fuera, pidiera, dijera.
How it works
Take the third-person plural preterite (hablaron, comieron, tuvieron, fueron, pidieron, dijeron), drop the -ron ending, and add -ra or -se plus the personal endings. So hablaron gives hablara/hablase, and tuvieron gives tuviera/tuviese. Any irregular preterite stem carries over automatically, which is why tener yields tuviera and decir yields dijera.
Examples
| Infinitive | Preterite (3rd pl.) | Imperfect subjunctive (-ra / -se) |
|---|---|---|
| hablar | hablaron | hablara / hablase |
| comer | comieron | comiera / comiese |
| tener | tuvieron | tuviera / tuviese |
| ser / ir | fueron | fuera / fuese |
| pedir | pidieron | pidiera / pidiese |
| decir | dijeron | dijera / dijese |
Good to know
The -ra and -se forms are interchangeable in most contexts, though -ra is far more common in speech; -se sounds more formal or literary. Watch the nosotros form: it takes a written accent on the vowel before the ending — habláramos, comiéramos, fuéramos — a stress mark learners often forget.